Process cheese is a type of cheese that, in some aspects, has distinct technical advantages over natural cheese. For example, process cheese often has an extended shelf-life in comparison to natural cheese, tends to be resistant to separation when cooked, demonstrates a desired melting profile, and can be formed into a wide variety of product forms (e.g., slices, loaves, sauces, dips, and the like). Process cheese is produced by comminuting and mixing together natural cheese, other dairy ingredients, emulsifiers, salt, and optionally food colorings. Various types of natural cheese, as well as blends, thereof may be used to provide desirable flavor and texture profiles in processed cheese.
Previously, emulsifying salts were used to form process cheese that melts smoothly when cooked, without separating into different phases, or providing undesirable melt restriction (that is, fails to melt or has an appreciably decreased melt profile). The most common emulsifying salts used in process cheese include sodium and potassium citrates, monophosphates, and polyphosphates to suggest a few. It was believed that the emulsifying salts function in many ways to aid in increased stability to the cheese. For instance, it is believed that the emulsifying salts complex with calcium ions in the cheese to help solubilize the protein, increase protein hydration and swelling, facilitate emulsification of fat, and adjust and stabilize pH. Emulsifying salts reduce the tendency for fat globules in the cheese to coalesce and pool on the surface of the molten cheese. Emulsifying salts allowed a cheesemaker to pasteurize the cheese product without deterioration of the cheese texture and melt characteristics.
Emulsifying salts, however, tend to modify the flavor of the natural cheeses by providing a milder and saltier flavor profile. In addition, processed cheese generally contains higher levels of sodium than natural cheese since processed cheese contains sodium based emulsifying salts as well as sodium chloride.
Consumers are increasingly aware of the composition of foods. Thus, there is a desire to prepare processed cheese with more natural ingredients and with less or even without emulsifying salts. Prior attempts at producing a processed cheese without emulsifying salts, however, have compromised one or more of the desired characteristics of the processed cheese. For instance, some emulsifying salt-free cheese preparations have focused on decreasing the calcium content of one or more dairy ingredients in the cheese product. Processed cheese without emulsifying salts has been prepared through the use of a calcium reduced casein sources; however, some approaches tended to produce a melt restricted cheese that was not suitable for all types of cheeses. In other approaches, cheese products prepared without emulsifying salts have relied heavily on starches and hydrocolloid stabilizers to provide in-process and final product stability. These approaches, however, result in several disadvantages to the resultant cheese. The starches and hydrocolloids often add textures and flavors to the final product that, again, is unsuitable for some types of cheeses. The use of starches and hydrocolloids may also inhibit flavor release, and often leads to a starchy and/or undesirable flavors, textures, and mouthfeel. In other cases, processed cheeses without emulsifying salts may be prepared by modifying and/or essentially removing all the casein from the cheese. As casein is one of the predominate dairy proteins in cheese, it can be appreciated that a casein-less or a substantially casein-reduced cheese will tend to lack the full flavor of more natural cheeses.